A panel of experts convened by the top US health agency is meeting to review data surrounding more than 300 confirmed cases of heart inflammation among adolescents and young adults after receiving mRNA COVID vaccines.

The committee, hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will hear a risk-benefit analysis as researchers probe the shots’ probable links to myocarditis.

The independent experts will hear from CDC scientists that “the benefits still clearly outweigh the risks for COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents and young adults,” according to slides posted on the agency’s website.

As of June 11, 323 people under the age of 29 who received mRNA COVID vaccines have had confirmed cases of heart inflammation, myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart lining, pericarditis, the experts were told.

Of these cases, 309 were hospitalized, of whom 295 were discharged, nine remain hospitalized with two in intensive care, and there is no outcome data for five cases.

The cases are predominantly among males, most occur after the second dose, and there are no confirmed deaths at this time.

More than 50 million doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines had been administered to young people aged 12-19 as of June 11.

Source: AFP via TOI